Method of playing three card game

ABSTRACT

A playing card game and wagering method which involves each player playing a three card hand and placing a wager with an option of adding a side wager. Two cards are dealt face down to each player by the dealer. Each player has the opportunity to wager a side wager after inspecting his two cards. The dealer deals himself one card face up; he exposes each player&#39;s two cards and matches them with his to form a three card hand to identify winners. Winners receive a bonus payment according to the ranking of their hands.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] This invention relates to a three card poker game dealt from a regular fifty-two card deck with a wagering method that has an option to add a side wager before completing the hand playing at a casino. 2. Description of Prior Art There are many table games in casinos throughout the world that offer odds on the payment and a progressive jackpot to certain hands in the ranking. The three most well known are “Caribbean Stud™,” protected by U.S. Pat. No. 4,836,553, “Let It Ride™,” protected by U.S. Pat. No. 5,288,081 and “Three Card Poker™,” protected by U.S. Pat. No. 5,685,774. Their popularity is due to their poker ranking, odds on the payment, and the progressive jackpot. Therefore, it is in the advantage of casinos to have other card games that offer the same excitement as the three games described above; wherein players can easily learn the game, make fast playing decisions, have a high win frequency, and overall fun playing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0003] The objective of the present invention is to provide:

[0004] An easy, yet fast card game that exhibits the same excitement as poker, Black-Jack, and Baccarat combined.

[0005] A card game which plays with three cards out of a regular fifty-two card deck.

[0006] A card game in which each player places an initial wager and has the option to add a side wager before the completion of the hand.

[0007] A card game where winners get odds on their wagers according to their hand in the ranking.

[0008] A card game in which players may wager towards a progressive jackpot.

[0009] A table covering which can accommodate up to seven players and a dealer.

[0010] A card game in which the casino banks the game.

[0011] A card game which has a ranking as below with a Straight Flush being the highest winning hand:

[0012] Ranking

[0013] 1. Straight Flush.*

[0014] 2. Three of a Kind.*

[0015] 3. Straight.*

[0016] 4. Flush.*

[0017] 5. Three Face Cards.

[0018] 6. Points.**

[0019] *Three card poker ranking. Note that straight has a higher ranking than flush.

[0020] ** Baccarat ranking. Nine is the highest point and zero the lowest. The point value is the total sum of the three cards, if it exceeds ten or twenty then its last digit is the point value (i.e. “6”, “5”, and “2” makes 3 point value). Face cards have no point value.

[0021] Lastly, a card game where the dealer deals the cards and plays as the banker.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022]FIG. 1 shows a table covering on a half moon or Black Jack table with the player and dealer stations.

[0023]FIG. 2 shows an enlargement of a player station.

[0024]FIG. 3 shows the flow chart of the method of play.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0025] The table covering 1 may be of any size or shape. However, it is designed to fit a regular half moon or Black Jack table (not shown) as it is illustrated on FIG. 1.

[0026] The table covering 1 is usually a green felt pad with various imprints (usually white) to accommodate seven players 2 and a dealer 3 (located oppose to of the players).

[0027] Turning now into an individual player station, FIG. 2 illustrates various parts of the station.

[0028] Each individual player station includes three circles 10-12-13, two rectangles 11-16, a station number 14, and an imprint of the winning odds of each particular hand 15. Any other closed sized shape will also work. Circle 10 is the location where to place the progressive jackpot wager, as is Circle 12 for the initial wager, and Circle 13 for the side wager. Rectangle 16 is the location where to place the two dealt cards when there is no side wager as is Rectangle 11 when there is a side wager. Station Number 14 indicates the station number of the player.

[0029] As for the dealer station, there is a rectangle 4 designated for the placement of the common card and a large horizontal rectangle 5 designated for the placement of the chips' tray (not shown).

[0030] Any progressive gaming apparatus (not described) may be adapted to this invention where the players can wager for a progressive jackpot.

METHOD OF PLAY

[0031] The game is played with a regular fifty-two card deck. However, a multiple deck of cards may be used as well. The casino provides all the accessories including the table with the appropriate table covering 1 and the dealer 3. The dealer 3's functions are to deal the cards, control the game, and act as the banker for the game.

[0032] The object of the game is to make a hand of three cards as high as possible in the ranking; for each specific ranking, there are corresponding payment odds, the higher the ranking, the better the payment odds are. In addition, each player 2 has an option to wager a side wager upon receiving two cards.

[0033] All players play against the banker, herein being the dealer 3.

[0034] The dealer 3 must shuffle the deck of cards prior to each round and burn one card before the flop of the common card. If there is only one player 2, one card must be burned between each card before it is delivered.

[0035] The wager for the progressive jackpot is optional (not described). However, to play it, one must wager the initial wager.

[0036] Each playing round is described as follows:

[0037] a) Each player 2 places a wager in Circle 12 to participate to the round.

[0038] b) The dealer 3 announces that no more wagers will be taken.

[0039] c) The dealer 3 deals two cards face down to each player 2.

[0040] d) Each player 2 inspects his two cards and decides to wager or not a side wager according to the possible drawing hand he may have:

[0041] If he chooses the “Yes” option, a side wager must be placed in Circle 13 and the two cards received must rest right below it in Rectangle 11;

[0042] If he chooses the “No” option, the two cards received must rest in Rectangle 16, right below Circle 12.

[0043] *As a simple strategy to playing the side wager, it is good to play it when the two cards have a possibility of making a Straight Flush, Three of a kind, Straight, or Flush (since only those hands are paying hands for the side wager).

[0044] e) The dealer 3 announces that no more side wager will be taken and makes sure that each player 2 has rested his two cards into the appropriate rectangles 11-16.

[0045] f) The dealer 3 flops a common card face up in Rectangle 4 in front of him.

[0046] g) The dealer 3 exposes each player 2's two cards.

[0047] h) The dealer 3 matches each player's two cards with his to form a three card hand to determine who wins or loses.

[0048] i) The dealer 3 pays the wins, and collects the loss and cards.

[0049] j) End of the round.

[0050] All the winning and losing transactions are made from the chips' tray (not shown,) designated by Rectangle 5, where the chips used for the wagering are stocked.

[0051] The payment may be paid according to the following schedule: Ranking Payment Initial Payment Side Number Hand Wager Wager 1 Royal Flush 150-to-1  5-to-1 2 Straight Flush 40-to-1  5-to-1 3 Three of a Kind 35-to-1  5-to-1 4 Straight 5-to-1 3-to-1 5 Flush 3-to-1 2-to-1 6 Three Face Cards 2-to-1 1-to-1 7 9 Points 1-to-1 Push 8 8 Points 1-to-1 Push

[0052] The illustration of the method of play is also described schematically in FIG. 3. 

I claim:
 1. A method of playing a wagering game for a number of players using standard playing cards combining poker and Baccarat ranking with the following: Each player placing a first wager to participate in a wagering game, a second wager to participate in the side wager; Dealing cards to each player and dealing one common card; Giving the option to each player to add said side wager upon receiving and examining cards prior to the flop of said common card.
 2. A method according to claim 1, wherein said second wager may be of different amount but never to exceed said first wager.
 3. A method according to claim 2, wherein said first wager and said second wager has different payment odds.
 4. A method according to claim 1, wherein said common card is delivered last. 